Conventional hand trucks provide a simple means for transporting heavy objects over a distance by significantly enhancing a hand-truck operator's ability to lift and move these heavy objects. For example, a person otherwise unable to pick up and move boxes weighing a hundred pounds or more may do so easily with the use of a hand truck.
Currently, hand trucks come in various sizes and configurations, an example of which is illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate planar views of a right side and a front side, respectively, of a conventional hand truck 100. The hand truck 100 includes a frame body 102 that may optionally include support bars 110a-110c, which reinforce and support the frame body 102. The support bars 110a-110c are also useful in supporting objects being transported with the hand truck 100 as those objects are typically leaned against the support bars 110a-110c during transport. For example, a container may rest against the support bars 110a-110c while the hand truck 100 is pivoted around the axis of wheels 108a, 108b that are coupled together via an axel 112 and that function as a fulcrum. The hand truck 100 also includes a pair of handles 106a, 106b for controlling and maneuvering the hand truck 100. In particular, the handles 106a, 106b enable the hand-truck operator to apply a downward force relative to one side of the wheels 108a, 108b (i.e., the fulcrum) that lifts an object placed on a ledge 104 of the hand truck (i.e., the load). The wheels 108a, 108b also enable the user to easily move the hand truck 100, along with the object resting on the ledge 104, via a pushing or pulling force.
Currently, due to the conventional rectangular, flat shape of hand truck ledges, conventional hand trucks are particularly suited for moving rectangular objects, such as boxes, containers, crates, etc. However, attempts to use conventional hand trucks to move heavy objects of non-rectangular shapes frequently result in difficulty moving such objects effectively or safely. For example, a heavy, irregular object may slide on the hand truck's ledge during transport, potentially falling off the ledge and injuring the hand-truck operator or damaging the object. Despite the ubiquity of hand trucks, moving non-rectangular objects continues to be a design, operational, and safety challenge.